Keep the big kids warm this winter

By DEVIN WEEKS

Staff Writer

COEUR d’ALENE — Coordinators of a new clothing drive are working to collect winter coats for a demographic that often gets overlooked — middle- and high-schoolers in need.

"We have adult-sized, high school, middle school kids that are not served by philanthropic organizations like this," said Beth Freeman, an organizer of the Warm for Winter — Coats for the Big Kids drive.

"It's one thing when you say a third-grader needs a coat. It’s a different thing when you say a junior needs a coat," she said. "It’s a different compassion and it shouldn't be."

The Warm for Winter campaign launched last weekend and will continue through Friday. That leaves less than a week to collect coats for older kids who otherwise will struggle to stay warm when winter officially hits in just 12 days.

Progress for the drive, so far, is slow-going.

"The (drop off) boxes are empty," Freeman said. "We need to get the word out about this."

Freeman began to examine the situation in Coeur d'Alene a couple weeks ago after talking to a friend in Sandpoint who held a coat drive among colleagues.

"I just took somebody else’s good idea and wanted to see if we had a deficiency in the community," she said. "It turns out that we do."

Freeman and her business, Blue Tulip Aesthetics in Dalton Gardens, are working with Hope on the Homefront, a Coeur d'Alene School District program that supports underprivileged students, to conduct this coat drive for the older kids.

"The reason why it may have been overlooked in the past is we’ve got Idaho pride and we take care of ourselves," said James Curb, programs director and homeless liaison with SD271. "These children are in tough situations, many of them, and they don't have the means to provide for their most basic needs. This is a wonderful opportunity to touch someone's life and hopefully help them manage a little bit better."

The goal is to get the coats to the students before school breaks for the winter. Business and group donations will be picked up upon request. Freeman said Hope on the Homefront has a nonprofit element so donations can be tax-deductible.

"We’re just hoping the community at large, while they're sending kids off to college or cleaning out their closets, would help," she said.

New, adult-sized coats from small to 3XX can be dropped off at these locations: Ziggy's, 170 W. Wyoming Ave., Hayden; Northern Lakes Fire Protection District, 125 W. Hayden Ave., Hayden; the Metro Express Car Wash, 3131 Conference Drive, Coeur d'Alene; Hope on the Homefront, 1400 N. Northwood Center Court, Coeur d'Alene; and the Coeur d'Alene Chamber of Commerce, 105 N. First St., Coeur d'Alene.

Info: www.facebook.com/events/171913366879713